Photopolymeric printing plates are widely used in the printing industry where they have many advantages but suffer from a well recognized disadvantage of being relatively soft. Their softness makes them easily scratched or dented, shortens their wear life on a press, and makes them unsuitable for some types of printing that, therefore require more expensive metal plates.
I have devised a way of hardening photopolymeric printing plates after they are imaged and etched so they are harder, tougher, more wear resistant, less easily damaged, and usable in applications that could not previously tolerate photopolymeric plates. My invention aims at simplicity and economy in making harder and tougher photopolymeric plates that can survive well in a wider variety of circumstances.